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This is a list of Royal Variety Performances, gala evenings held annually in the United Kingdom, which are attended by senior members of the British Royal Family. Initially, the reigning monarch(s) would attend the show but in more recent years, the senior members attending have alternated, with Queen Elizabeth II attending less and less frequently as her reign progressed.
Where no town or city is noted in the venue column in the following table, it means that the venue is situated in London.
Consumer broadcasting had yet to be invented.
No. | Date | Venue | Acts | Royal(s) present | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
[a] | 1 July 1912 | Palace Theatre | Pipifax and Penlo, Barclay Gammon, The Palace Girls, George H. Chirgwin, The Bogannys, Fanny Fields, Paul Cinquevalli, Harry Tate, Ida Crispi and Fred Farrn, Vesta Tilley, La Pia, Little Tich, Arthur Prince, Alfred Lester, Clarice Mayne, Charles Aldrich, George Robey, David Devant, Wilkie Bard, Harry Lauder, Cecilia Loftus | King George V, Queen Mary and Edward, Prince of Wales | [1] |
1 [b] | 28 July 1919 | London Coliseum | The Flying Banvards, Ernest Hastings, George Robey and Violet Loraine, Sam Barton, Arthur Prince, Harry Tate, Clarice Mayne, Grock, Du Calion, Ethel Hook | King George V and Queen Mary | [2] |
All of the gala evenings in the 1920s were un-broadcast and had no main presenter.
No. | Date | Venue | Acts | Royal(s) present | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 [a] | 25 November 1921 | The Hippodrome | Frederick Sylvester & Co, Norah Blaney and Gwen Farrar, G. S. Melvin, Renee and Godfrey, Malcolm McEachern, Rebla, The Peep Show with Annie Croft, Reginald Sharland, Fred Allandale, Albert Darnley and Mary Gibbs, J. Milton Hayes, Billy Merson, The Five Petleys | King George V and Queen Mary | [3] |
3 | 12 December 1922 | The Flemings, Will Fyffe, Kharum, Du Calion, Lorna and Toots Pound, P. T. Selbit, Muriel George and Earnest Butcher, Tom Webster, Arthur Prince, Harry Weldon, Trix Sisters, The Mirthful Jovers | King George V, Queen Mary and Queen of Norway | [4] | |
4 | 13 December 1923 | London Coliseum | Bobbie Hind and his all-British Sonara Band, Rupert Hazell, Katrina and Joan, the Griffith Brothers, The Samurai with Lola Karsavina, Sessue Hayakawa, Lewis Gilbert, Ann Trevor and Dora de Winton, Royal Albert Hall Orchestra, Brighter London with Billy Merson, Reg Sharland, Eddie Jaye, Bernard Dudley, Laddie Cliff and Rena Hall, Russian Blue Bird Players, Alfred Lester, Loie Fuller Band, Marimba Band, The Disorderly Room with Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, Tommy Handley, Jamieson Dodd, Cecil Bainbridge and Fred Kemp, Louis Parker, Barclay Gammon | King George V and Queen Mary | [5] |
5 | 12 February 1925 | Alhambra Theatre | George Hurd, Mr & Mrs Tree, Will Hay, Ethel Hook, J. Milton Hayes, J.W. Jackson's Twelve English Dancers, G. H. Elliott, Will Fyffe, Nervo and Knox, Talbot O'Farrell, Harry Tate and Company | [6] | |
6 [b] | 27 May 1926 | The Twelve Famous Tiller Girls, Dick Henderson, Robb Wilton, Lillian Burgess, Jack Hylton and his famous band, Conn Kenna, Carr & Parr, Bransby Williams, The Houston Sisters, Billy Bennett, Rick Hayes | [7] | ||
7 | 27 May 1927 | Victoria Palace Theatre | P.L. Clark, Mona Grey, Norman Long, The Victoria Girls, Jack Edge, Debroy Somers and his band, Albert Whelan, Lily Morris, Georgie Wood, Dolly Harmer, Tom Blacklock, Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam, The Three Huxster Brothers | [8] | |
8 | 13 December 1928 | London Coliseum | Larry Kemble, Stanelli & Douglas, The Victoria Girls, A.C. Astor, Lillian Burgess, Noni & Horace, Victor Andre, Clarkson Rose, Anton Dolin, Gracie Fields, Will Hay, Jack Hylton and his band | [9] | |
No. | Date | Radio broadcast | Venue | Acts | Royal(s) present | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 22 May 1930 | 22 May 1930 BBC National Programme | London Palladium | Sixteen Palladium Girls, Harry Prescott and his seven Hindustans, Tom Payne and Vera Hilliard, George Clarke, Julian Rose, De Groot with David Bor, Reginald Kilbey & Gillie Potter, Max Wall, Chilton & Thomas, Howell Harger, Naldi, Nervo and Knox, Coram, Odali Careno, Totò, Will Hay with Will Hay Jnr and H. Gordon Saunders, Gaston Palmer, Jack Payne and his BBC band | King George V and Queen Mary | [10] |
10 | 11 May 1931 | 11 May 1931 BBC National Programme | P.L. Clark, Mona Grey, Norman Long, The Victoria Girls, Jack Edge, Debroy Somers and his band, Albert Whelan, Lily Morris, Georgie Wood, Dolly Harmer, Tom Blacklock, Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam, The Three Huxster Brothers | [11] | ||
11 | 30 May 1932 | 30 May 1932 BBC National Programme | Stetson, Christoper and Columbus, The Bells, Levanda and the Nine Diamonds, Billy Danvers, George Clarke with Madge Aubrey, Flanagan and Allen, Eugene's Magyar band, Jack Buchanan, Will Fyffe, Errol Addison, Iris Kirkwhite, Nervo and Knox, Naughton and Gold, J. Sherman Fisher's Palladium Girls, Lawrence Tiller Girls, G. S. Melvin, Jasper Maskelyne, Cicely Courtneidge, Jack Hylton and his band, Little Doreen, Harry Champion, Vesta Victoria, Fred Russell, Marie Kendall | [12] | ||
12 | 22 May 1933 | — | The London Palladium Crazy Gang (Nervo and Knox, Flanagan and Allen, Naughton and Gold, Eddie Gray, Billy Caryll, Hilda Mundy, Lawrence Barclay), J. Sherman Fisher's Palladium Girls, Omar, Billy Russell, Geraldo and his Tango Orchestra, Gaston and Andree, the Ganjou Brothers and Juanita Richards with Billy Hendrix, Aline Fournier and Vittorio Togo, Cardini, The Company, The Carlo Medini Six, Wilson, Keppel and Betty, William and Joe Mendel, Billy Bennett, Evelyn Laye, Jack Hobbs, Roy Fox and his band | [13] | ||
13 | 8 May 1934 | 8 May 1934 BBC National Programme | Kafka, Stanley and Mae Quartette, The Three Bonos, Frank Boston, J. Sherman Fisher's Palladium Girls, The Three Sailors, Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane, Elsie and Doris Waters, Cedric Hardwicke, Osmund Wilson, Cicely Oates, George Robey, Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra, Jack Holland and June Hart, Murray and Mooney, George Clarke, Bert Platt, Alec Dane, Norah Dwyer, Billy Bennett, Jack Hylton and his band | [14] | ||
14 [a] | 29 October 1935 | — | Hannah Wyatt, Jeanne Devereaux, Nervo and Knox, Naughton and Gold, Flanagan and Allen, Ernie Gerrard, The Six Lias from round about Regent Street, The Diamond Brothers, Joe Jackson, Stanley Holloway, Anton Dolin, Jessie Matthews, J. Sherman Fisher's Palladium Girls, The Western Brothers, Harrison & Fisher, Myles Williams, The Harmony Revellers, Bea Hutten, Syd Railton, Del Foss, Boy Foy, Sandy Powell with Jimmy Fletcher and Joy Jeffries, Three Cossacks, Elsie Carlisle and Sam Browne, Will Mahoney, Arthur Reece, Kate Carney, Gus Elen, Florrie Forde, Harry Champion, Harry Roy and his band | [15] | ||
15 | 29 October 1937 | 15 November 1937 BBC National Programme | From London Rhapsody, Len Lewis, George Lane, Raymond Newell, Henry Carlisle, Serge Ganjou, Henry Carlisle, Mary Young, Rosarito, George Ganjou, The Gypsy Boys Band, Norman Evans, Florence Desmond, Señor Wences, George Formby, Cicely Courtneidge with the Harry Dennis Dance Sexette and the Sherman Fisher Girls, Max Miller, Jack La Vier, Ethel Revnell and Gracie West, Ralph Reader's Gang Show, The London Palladium Gang Show, Gracie Fields, Will Fyffe | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth | [16] | |
16 [b] | 9 November 1938 | — | London Coliseum | The Crastonians, The Two Leslies, Murray and Mooney, Evelyn Laye, Renée Houston and Donald Stewart, Ken Davidson and Hugh Forgie, From Running Riot – Richard Hearne and Rosalind Atkinson, The Stuart Morgan Dancers with Lita D'Oray, Harold Hart, William Kat, Jack Payne's Orchestra, Peggy Cochrane, Mary Lee, Betty Kent, Biddy Barton, Teddy Foster, Ronnie Grearder, Rob Ashley, The Dagenham Girl Pipers, Three Aberdonians, Les Allen, Laurie Day, Roy Willis, Will Hatton, Ethel Manners, Elsie and Doris Waters, The John Tiller Girls, the cast of Me and My Girl (Lupino Lane, George Graves, Betty Frankiss and Teddy St. Denis), Jack Barty, George Carney, Claphan and Dwyer, Harry Champion, Kate Carney, Will Fyffe, Florrie Forde, Marie Kendall, Gaston and Andree, Tommy Handley, G. S. Melvin, Talbot O'Farrell, Gillie Porter, Harry Tate, Vesta Victoria, Bransby Williams, Anona Winn | [17] | |
No. | Date | Radio broadcast | Venue | Acts | Royal(s) present | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 | 5 November 1945 | 5 November 1945 BBC Light Programme | London Coliseum | Roy Mitchell, Jill Manners, The Nine Avalons, Jules Adrian, Grace Spero, Beryl Kaye, Vic Oliver, Maurice Colleano, George Doonan, Will Hay, Douglas Wakefield, Chuck O'Neil, Billy Nicholls, Peter Byrne, Michael Hunt, Billy Nelson, Roy Jeffries, Delya, Sid Field, Jerry Desmonde, Stella Moya, Denise Clifford, Wilson, Keppel and Betty, Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler, Tommy Trinder, Chappie D'Amato, Van Phillips, Reginald Burston. | King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret | [18] |
18 | 4 November 1946 | — | London Palladium | From High Time – The Girls, Tony Hulley, Barbara Bentham, Brent Fields, Billy Castle, Bobby Tranter and Mary Naylor, The Cairoli Brothers, Nat Jackley with Harry Moreny, Dick Beamish, Arthur Vollum, Sammy Curtis, Bob Bromley and his puppets, Terry-Thomas Dance Ensemble with Alan and Blanche Lund, Gil Johnson, the Three Ross Sisters, Halama and Konarski, The Cabana Accordion Six, Nat Mills and Bobbie, Robert Lamouret, Arthur Askey, Harry Lester and his Hayseeds, Tessie O'Shea, Charlie Chester, Dick Henderson, Jimmy Jewel, Charlie Naughton, Jimmy Gold, Eddie Gray, El Granadas and Peter, Jack Jackie, Koba and Kalee, Reggie Redcliffe, Rene Strange, Henri Vadden, Sid Field with Jerry Desmonde, Alfie Dean, The Wallabies and the Palladium Boys & Girls, Ben Warriss, Marianne Lincoln, Oscar Natzka, Band of the Training Ship. | [19] | |
19 | 3 November 1947 | Hy Hazell, The Alec Thomas Quartet, Marilyn Hightower, Three Shades, Valerie Tandy, Bobbie Tranter, Tony Hulley, The Three Astaires, Hortobagyi Troupe, Billy Russell, Wilson, Keppel and Betty, Norman Evans, Borrah Minnevitch's Harmonica Rascals, Mervyn Saunders, Mona and Oliver & The Girls, Wally Boag, Bud Flanagan, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton, Jimmy Gold, Frank Holloway, Willie Carlisle, Freddie Malcom, Jack Durrant, Robert Wilson, The Dagenham Piper Girls, Vic & Joe Crastonian, James Currie's Water Spectacle, Alan Bailey, Terri Carol, Cynthia & Gladys, The Three Garcias, Levanda, Marie Louise, Mariora, Olga Varona, Eva May Wong, Bobbie Kimber, Dolores Gray & Bill Johnson, Laurel and Hardy, The Zoris, Tommy Trinder, Gracie Fields. | King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and Philip Mountbatten | [20] | ||
20 | 1 November 1948 | The Blackpool Tower Circusettes, The Cromwells, Kirsta and Kristel, The Myrons, Warren Latona and Sparks, Charlie Chester and his Radio Gang, Daphne Kiernander, Sky High Corps De Ballet, Jayne and Adam Di Gatano, The Colstons, Nicholas Brothers, The 24 John Tiller Girls, Ted Ray, Sid Field, George and Bert Bernard, Stewart McPherson, Randolph Sutton, Nellie Wallace, Billy Danvers, Ella Shields, Talbot O'Farrell, Gertie Gitana, G. H. Elliott, Ted Heath and his Band, Derek Roy, The Radio Revellers, The Melachrino Strings, Julie Andrews, The Luton Girls Choir, The Great Alexander Troupe, Arthur Askey, Buster Shaver and his trio of Lilliputians, The Crazy Gang, Danny Kaye, The Skyrockets Orchestra. | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth | [21] | ||
21 | 7 November 1949 | London Coliseum | John Sanger, Arthur Bell, Eric Coates, Phil Parke, Johnny Lockwood, Les Charlivels, Joy Nichols, Michael Bentine, Bill Johnson, Peter Cavanagh, Marilyn Hightower, Elsa and Waldo, Peggy Ryan and Ray McDonald, The Tiller Girls, Reginald Dixon, Band of the Royal Marines, Harvey, The Seven Ashtons, Wilfred Pickles, Dolores Gray, Borrah Minnevitch's Harmonica Rascals featuring Johnny Puleo, Maurice Chevalier, Noele Gordon, Ted Ray. | King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret | [22] | |
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